The surprising health benefits of drinking

Hallelujah! Could finding out that champagne is actually good for you be the best Christmas gift of all?

Picture: iStock

Pass me a glass while I rejoice in the news!

While a safe and responsible approach to alcohol is a must, it turns out that there are some surprising health benefits to indulging in a glass or two of your favourite tipple. And as the silly season approaches, there’s never been a better time to talk about it.

Dr Jeremy Spencer, from the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Reading said drinking champagne in moderate amounts causes improvements in the way blood vessels function.

"Our research has shown that drinking around two glasses of champagne can have beneficial effects on the way blood vessels function, in a similar way to that observed with red wine,” he said. “We always encourage a responsible approach to alcohol consumption, but the fact that drinking champagne has the potential to reduce the risks of suffering from cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke, is very exciting news."

There you have it, from a doctor himself! And he’s as excited as we are!

To add to this, the Harvard University School of Public Health recently published a report that found more than 100 prospective studies showed an positive association between moderate drinking and a corresponding 25 percent to 40 percent reduction in risk of heart attack, ischemic (clot-caused) stroke, sudden cardiac death, and death from all cardiovascular causes.

But it’s not just blood circulation that can be improved by drinking a glass of bubbly. Here are five other health benefits from drinking moderate amounts (that’s two glasses a day, not four, or six or eight) of alcohol:

1. It helps prevent colds

In 2002, Spanish researchers followed 4,300 healthy adults, examining how much they drank and their susceptibility to colds for a study published in The American Journal of Epidemiology. While they found no cold-fighting benefits of drinking beer and spirits, they did find that drinking 8 to 14 glasses of wine per week (one or two glasses a day of red wine in particular) was linked to as much as a 60 percent reduction in the risk of developing a cold. This was reportedly due to the antioxidant properties of wine. So the bottom line is, while it won’t cure the sniffles, it may help prevent you from getting sniffly in the first place.

2. Lowers your risk of diabetes

The American Diabetes association published a report in 2005 titled “Moderate Alcohol Consumption Lowers the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes”. The report found that “observational studies suggests a 30 per cent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in moderate alcohol consumers, whereas no risk reduction is observed in (those who consumed hardly any alcohol per day).” Good to hear, AMA.

3. It can help you live longer

There is also strong evidence that alcohol may play a role in increasing your life span. “The data is very clear that one of the best predictors of longevity is moderate drinking,” says Curtis Ellison, MD, a professor of medicine and public health at Boston University. “In almost every epidemiologic study, where people have been followed for years and years, those who consume alcohol moderately tend to live a little longer. It varies from one year to several years longer than people who do not drink at all during their lifetime.” Cheers to that!

4. May delay the development of dementia

The journal of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment published a study which followed 365,000 participants and found moderate drinkers were 23 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. "Small amounts of alcohol might, in effect, make brain cells more fit. Alcohol in moderate amounts stresses cells and thus toughens them up to cope with major stresses down the road that could cause dementia," said Edward J. Neafsey, Ph.D., co-author of the study. There you have it, it makes your brain fit too!

5. It’s high in antioxidants

Resveratrol, an antioxidant found in abundance in grapes and red wine has been credited with a large number of health benefits in various studies. “Resveratrol might be a key ingredient in red wine that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) and prevents blood clots,” says the Mayo Clinic. “Some research shows that resveratrol could be linked to a lower risk of inflammation and blood clotting, which can lead to heart disease.” Another glass of red for me please.

On top of these long-term benefits, moderate consumption of alcohol has also been proven to help our creativity, assist in relaxation, temporarily boost confidence and improve your libido, which means more sexy time this Christmas.

But, while the good news is most certainly there, we must reiterate that alcohol consumption is all about balancing the risks and the benefits. Alcohol is both helpful and harmful, the difference lies mostly in the dose. While moderate drinking may help in preventing heart disease, diabetes and dementia, heavy and excessive drinking is a major cause of preventable death. So have one or two, but don’t over do it.